Desenvolvimento de espumas a base de amido de mandioca

Abstract

The environmental impact caused by improper disposal of packaging materials based on synthetic polymers, arouses interest in development packaging from biodegradable materials. The objective of this study was to develop and characterize trays base of cassava starch foam for food packaging, obtained by the thermal expansion process. Different proportions of starch and water, as blowing agent, in the formulation of the starch foams was tested. As plasticizers were used glycerol, sorbitol, and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at concentrations of 2.5; 5.0 and 7.5% w/w on starch weight. In order to improve the hydrophilic characteristics of the foams, coating was applied of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) in the surface of the trays. The application of the trays as packaging strawberries in storage was tested. Packaging characterization was performed by thickness and density analysis, SEM, water absorption capacity (WAC), solubility, sorption isotherms, tensile strength, angle of contact and enzymatic degradation. The ratio starch:water who produced foams with the best combination of density, water absorption capacity and visual aspect characteristics was 47.5:52.5. The starch additive resulted in foams with the highest possibility of application as packaging for food for presenting the lowest WAC be less soluble and lowest values equilibrium moisture, was PVA concentration of 5%. The use of PLA-based coating on the surface of the starch foam trays resulted in a decrease of 86% in WAC trays and contact angle of 84.4 ° (higher hydrophobicity). The models that best fit the sorption isotherm of uncoated trays are the GAB and Oswin models. While for trays with PLA coating, Oswin model presents the best fit. The assay of enzymatic degradation by microbial amylases revealed the occurrence of the hydrolysis of starch in the first 8 hours of the test, indicating the biodegradability characteristics of the trays. The results of this study, obtained through the applicability of the test trays prove the possibility of the use of tapioca starch-based packing covered with PLA foods with high water activity.